The Better Man
The Better Man is the seventh episode of Season 4 and the overall forty-sixth episode of The Venture Bros. Plot The episode begins with the Order of the Triad attempting to stop the supervillain Torrid from opening a gate to the Second World (Hell). In the process, Torrid accidentally releases a demon from another world which quickly disposes of him. The Triad, despite their fears, attack the demon but are no match for it. Jefferson Twilight is killed and just as The Alchemist and Dr. Orpheus think they've lost, a mysterious stranger riding a flaming black horse flies through the gate. The stranger easily defeats the demon and brings Jefferson Twilight back to life. As he flies back through the portal Dr. Orpheus reveals that the man who saved them was none other than The Outrider, his former student and the man who stole his wife. In the next scene, Hank asks Dean why he is putting on a suit. Dean wants to look nice for Triana Orpheus, who is outside with her father, but Hank convinces him that she isn't his girlfriend and that he should give up trying to impress her. Meanwhile, Jefferson, in an attempt to make up for being defeated, trains with cardboard monsters, though he laments that between Orpheus and the Alchemist's magical powers, he will always be the one vulnerable to magical attacks. In the front yard of the Venture Compound, Dr. Orpheus attempts to open a portal to the Second World with camping equipment. After failing, Orpheus enters a portal within his daughter's closet to seek advice from the shape-shifting Master, who appears in the form of his very attractive ex-wife. The Master encourages Orpheus to kill The Outrider. The Triad go back to the original portal to the Second World to find The Outrider chasing Torrid who, after witnessing the Second World, begs for The Outrider to put him out of his misery. As The Outrider is about to mercifully kill Torrid, Torrid pounces on him and says incantations that send The Outrider's soul to the Second World. Orpheus, seeing that The Outrider is noble, decides he is good and is therefore determined to save his soul from the Second World. The Triad enlist Billy Quizboy to perform brain surgery on The Outrider, discovering an amulet of the "Eye of Osiris" in The Outrider's brain, which allowed him to travel to and from the Second World with ease. Orpheus and the Alchemist enter the Second World, only to have The Outrider inform them that they cannot return without the help of someone in both worlds. Luckily, Jefferson is found to be the link they need to help escape, and is thrilled to find that he has some magical abilities after all. Meanwhile, Triana stumbles into her closet and meets the Master, appearing as an older, neurotic, balding Dean Venture as her potential future husband. He convinces her to break things off with Dean and to go live with her mother and train to become a sorceress. Bolstered by the Master's support and realizing that she has the talent to become a sorceress, Triana goes to speak to her father about going to go live with her mother. After the credits, Dr. Orpheus and the Triad see Triana off as she prepares to leave with The Outrider. Dean approaches Triana and tries to break off their "relationship," citing that a long-distance relationship would be too much work. Triana happily agrees and kisses him. Surprised, Dean then tries to say that they could try a long distance relationship after all, but Triana gently rebukes him with the comment that she couldn't keep him all to herself, thereby sparing Dean's feelings and apparently breaking his crush on her. Episode Cast * [[wikipedia:James_Urbaniak|'James Urbaniak']]: Dr. Venture * [[wikipedia:Michael_Sinterniklaas|'Mike Sinterniklaas']]: Dean Venture * [[Chris McCulloch|'Chris McCulloch']]: Hank Venture, Torrid * [[Doc Hammer|'Doc Hammer']]: Dermott Fictel, Billy Quizboy, The Outrider * [[wikipedia:Steven_Rattazzi|'Steven Rattazzi']]: Dr. Orpheus * [[wikipedia:Dana_Snyder|'Dana Snyder']]: Alchemist * [[wikipedia:Charles_Parnell_(actor)|'Charles Parnell']]: Jefferson Twilight * [[wikipedia:H._Jon_Benjamin|'H. Jon Benjamin']]: The Master * [[wikipedia:Lisa_Hammer|'Lisa Hammer']]: Triana Orpheus First Appearances * The Outrider Connection to Other Episodes [[Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!|''Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!]] * Triana's mother and Orpheus' ex-wife, Tatyana, is shown and named for the first time, as a form taken by The Master. She was first mentioned in the episode [[Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!|''Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!]] when Orpheus was introduced. [[Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean|''Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean]] *This is not the first time that Master Billy Quizboy has mentioned his "rather steep fee". Billy previously mentioned it in the first season episode, [[Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean|''Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean]]. [[Powerless in the Face of Death|''Powerless in the Face of Death]] *Triana learns of Hank and Dean's cloning, as first revealed in the episode [[Powerless in the Face of Death|''Powerless in the Face of Death]]. [[Hate Floats|''Hate Floats]] * Hank and Dean revisit the shopping mall from [[Hate Floats|''Hate Floats]], where Dr. Venture was beaten and kidnapped by The Monarch's henchmen. One of the very same henchman can be seen in the center of the background for an extended period of time. [[Twenty Years to Midnight|''Twenty Years to Midnight]] *When Dean is getting dressed, Hank asks "did Colonel Gentleman die again?" This being a reference to when he was believed to have died but was in a diabetic coma in [[Twenty Years to Midnight|''Twenty Years to Midnight]]. [[I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills|'I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills']] *Triana's suspicion of her father and the Order being in her room is the effect of Orpheus' use of his magic to wipe her memory of the fact her closet is a portal to the Necropolis, as per I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills. *It is revealed Orpheus' marriage broke up most likely due to the fact he was a workaholic who focused too much on becoming a necromancer. In ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills'', Orpheus insisted to his Master that his wife left because of the persistence of The Outrider, which is only half the truth. [[Tears of a Sea Cow|''Tears of a Sea Cow]] *The Master (as adult Dean) is seen using the Boom-Broom from the episode [[Tears of a Sea Cow|''Tears of a Sea Cow]]. Self-Medication *As Dean, Dermott, and Hank are talking in the parking lot, a poster for Rings of the Realm can be seen behind them. This is the movie the brothers and Sgt. Hatred saw in the previous episode. Cultural References [[wikipedia:10 (film)|''10]]' (1979)' *Jefferson Twilight references Bo Derek in [[wikipedia:10 (film)|''10]]. [[wikipedia:Abracadabra|'Abracadabra']] * When Torrid sends The Outrider to the Second World, the spell he utters includes the word "abracadabra". Jefferson Twilight skeptically asks if Torrid just said "abracadabra", and Dr. Orpheus says it is a real magic word. [[wikipedia:Amaymon|'Amaymon']] *Dr. Orpheus calls on Amaymon while trying to open the portal to the Second World, the demon king of Southern Hell. [[wikipedia:Andrew Eldritch|'Andrew Eldritch']] * In the DVD commentary for this episode, show co-creator Doc Hammer mentions that The Outrider's hat is based on a hat worn by Andrew Eldritch, the lead singer of the British goth rock band The Sisters of Mercy. [[wikipedia:Apple doll|'Applehead dolls']] * Dr. Venture mistakes Dr. Orpheus' attempt to use lawn furniture to open a portal for a yard sale, telling him to include Dean's collection of applehead dolls among the sale items. [[wikipedia:Batcave (club)|'Batcave']] * The Alchemist claims to be "old school deathrock", saying that he used to visit the London Gothic rock nightclub Batcave while musician Nik Fiend, of the band Alien Sex Fiend, was still the doorman there. [[wikipedia:1984 New York City Subway shooting#Shooter|'Bernie Goetz']] * The adult form of Dean Venture that The Master takes to speak to Triana is based on Bernie Goetz, the infamous "Subway Vigilante" who shot and wounded four teenagers with a .38-caliber revolver after they approached him on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan in 1984. [[wikipedia:Black Lightning|'Black Lightning']] * The Outrider's horse is named "Black Lightning", a name shared by the DC Comics superhero Jefferson Pierce. [[wikipedia:Blade (comics)|'Blade']] * Jefferson Twilight's training course training course sequence is a reference to the Marvel Comics character Blade, a vampire hunter who is partial to swords. [[wikipedia:Cthulhu|'Cthulhu']] *The monster that Torrid summons looks similar to Cthulhu from the short story "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft. [[wikipedia:Dormammu|'Dormammu']] * One of the cardboard cut-outs on Jefferson Twilight's training course is the Marvel Comics character Dormammu, the primary enemy of Doctor Strange. [[wikipedia:Dracula (1931 English-language film)|''Dracula]]' (1931)' * One of the cardboard cut-outs on Jefferson Twilight's training course is Bela Lugosi's titular vampire from the 1931 film [[wikipedia:Dracula (1931 English-language film)|''Dracula]]. [[wikipedia:Hook (film)|'Hook']]' (1991) * Dean, on "mussing up" his hair at Hank's request, comments that he looks like Rufio, the de facto leader of the Lost Boys from the film Hook, to which Hank responds, "you are the Pan." [[wikipedia:Jurassic Park|'Jurassic Park']] * When The Outrider's ear falls off, The Alchemist refers to this as "dino-damage," a reference to the Jurassic Park toy line by Kenner. Certain dinosaur toys featured "dino-damage"—removable skin and flesh which simulated wounds. [[wikipedia:Matthew Lesko|'Matthew Lesko']] *One of the cardboard cut-outs on Jefferson Twilight's training course is that of Matthew Lesko, an American author known for his publications and infomercials on federal grant funding. Jefferson explains that he mistook Lesko for a villain because his suit "is covered in punctuation", like that worn by the Batman villain The Riddler. [[wikipedia:McGruff the Crime Dog|'McGruff the Crime Dog']] * When Hank takes Dean to the mall to meet girls, he encourages the latter by telling him to "take a bite outta crime". This is a catchphrase used by McGruff the Crime Dog. [[wikipedia:Mystery (pickup artist)|'Mystery']]' ([[wikipedia:The Pickup Artist (TV series)|''The Pickup Artist]])' *While teaching Dean to meet girls, Hank uses terminology developed by the Seduction Community, and popularized by Erik von Markovik, better known as Mystery from VH1's [[wikipedia:The Pickup Artist (TV series)|''The Pickup Artist]] and the book ''The Game''. Examples include: two-set, freeze-out, and neg. *The Outrider is visually modeled on Mystery. Pilates * While assuming her appearance The Master speculates that Tatyana must do pilates due to her firm physique. [[wikipedia:Riddler|'Riddler']] * One of the cardboard cut-outs on Jefferson Twilight's training course is that of Matthew Lesko. Jefferson explains that he mistook Lesko for a villain because his suit "is covered in punctuation", like that worn by the Batman villain The Riddler. [[wikipedia:The Fly (1986 film)|'The Fly''']] (1986)' * When The Outrider starts falling apart in the Second World, The Alchemist refers to him as Brundlefly, a character in the 1986 horror film remake, ''The Fly. [[wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (films)]] * As Dean, Dermott, and Hank are talking in the parking lot, a poster for Rings of the Realm can be seen behind them. Rings of the Realm is a parody of ''The Lord of the Rings''. [[wikipedia:The Wolf Man (1941 film)|''The Wolf Man]]' (1941)' * One of the cardboard cut-outs on Jefferson Twilight's training course is Lon Chaney Jr.'s titular werewolf from the 1941 film [[wikipedia:The Wolf Man (1941 film)|''The Wolf Man]]. [[wikipedia:Trepanning|'Trepanning']] * The Outrider reaches the Second World through the process of trepanning, which involves drilling a hole through the human skull, and inserting a magical amulet known as the "Eye of Osiris" into his head. Tylenol PM *The Master mentions Tylenol PM along with several different over-the-counter pain relievers (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen) before asking Orpheus if he has any ecstasy. Production Notes * One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For The Better Man the credit reads Kimson "Dingus" Albert. Category:The Venture Bros. episodes Category:2009 television episodes Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes